If you’ve been a recruiter for any length of time, you’ve heard candidates give excuses for missing an interview—or missing the first day on the job (if they even give you an excuse). And once candidates become employees, they also develop a habit of giving their employer excuses, as well, especially when it comes to missing work.
Job board site CareerBuilder recently released a list of employee excuses for missing work. Of course, this list has been quickly passed around the Internet, and I happened to see it on TIME Magazine’s website (which adapted it from “Ten Bizarre Excuses for Calling in Sick” by Dennis McCafferty at BaselineMag.com).
Anyway, below are those excuses:
- “My sobriety tool wouldn’t allow the car to start.”
- “I forgot I was hired for the job.”
- My dog is having a nervous breakdown”
- “My grandmother’s body is being exhumed for a police investigation.”
- “My toe is stuck in the faucet.”
- “I’m too upset after watching The Hunger Games.“
- “I’ve gotten sick from reading too much.”
- “My hair turned orange after I dyed it at home.”
What about you? What are the funniest excuses that you’ve ever heard from a candidate? (Not that there’s anything particularly funny about losing a placement fee . . . maybe “craziest” would be a better word to use.